As a company and as a team we always strive to celebrate the big and small wins of our daily jobs. That’s why we have our Fantastic Heroes nominations!

They help us identify and congratulate colleagues who go above and beyond in their succesful journey in our Fantastic Family!

Let us introduce to you our first Fantastic Hero – a helpful, very kind and an excellent achiever, 

Nora Kubinova!

She shares her thoughts about Leadership – the main topic for today`s article, and reveals some of her talents.

Q: What qualities and/or skills does a great leader have?

I constantly find new qualities that are needed and new things that help in the pursuit of building a successful team. Top things I can add to the “necessities list” would be:
– Knowing the people you work with and constantly listening to them actively;
– Being appreciative – “Thank you” should be your key phrase. If you are afraid you don’t say “Thank you” enough you can pick a Thanksgiving Day. Gather your team to say in public what you are thankful for (then they should do the same!);
– Focus on the positives – next time a team-member makes a mistake or feels discouraged, make a list of the 5 good things about them and their performance;
– Full honesty, openness and “radical candor”;
– Ability to give feedback and to set clear, specific expectations;
– Capability to build trust and connections instead of fear and an aggressive environment: Don’t play “Good cop – Bad cop” and don’t use “the carrot and the stick”. Punishments and fear kill trust and demolish creativity. Your team should not be afraid of you, they should respect and trust you.

Q: How would you define success and how would you describe your success in the company?

Not sure whether I should call it success or luck, but let’s say that my biggest success is managing to find a place for myself in an environment so enriching and surrounding myself with incredibly knowledgeable, kind and open-minded people. I have not only grown and learned so much in the past 2 years but also had the pleasure (and luxury) to befriend and learn from phenomenal people with vast knowledge and skills. I guess I can call that a success and luck only helped along the way.

Q: Kindly share a hidden talent of yours that maybe not very many (if any) people know about and how has this influenced you?

One of the things I consider a talent of mine is gift wrapping. I found it about 8 years ago. Since then I have accumulated a huge collection of wrapping papers, ribbons, decorative materials and YouTube tutorials. In the beginning it would take me 3 attempts and an hour to wrap something. Now I can say that the trill that people feel when they watch their loved ones unwrap their gifts. I experience it twice – first when I wrap the gift and a second time when people rip my creation open. This talent has not only saved me a ton of money (on average a professional takes 13lv for what I can DIY for 2-5lv), but also developed my patience and creativity.